Slovakian designers aim to shelter homeless using billboards

A much better alternative to the harsh metal spikes on the sidewalk used in Montreal last month to stop the homeless from loitering or sleeping too close to certain property, a group of Slovakian designers unveiled a groundbreaking new proposal on Wednesday to help shelter the homeless using billboards. The best part is that these billboards already exist and are V-shaped so they face drivers coming from each direction. The idea is to convert the space inside of the billboards' three sides into two-room apartments for the purpose of creating public living spaces for area homeless.

This social movement is being called The Gregory Project and it would provide much needed shelter to those otherwise would have nowhere else to go, utilize structures that are already built and the minimal cost to maintain these apartments would be covered in part by the advertisements on the outside. The plan was developed with the cityscape of Banska Bystrica in mind but the developers are confident that their idea could work in any city in the world with the right research and planning.

This design that incorporates both marketability as well as compassion is one of the best innovative ideas in recent memory. It displays an evolving societal response to an epidemic that is unfortunately swept under the rug in a lot cases and reflects how people are changing their views about how we solve the issues that most affect humanity. Since the versatility of this design means that any city or even country can use it means that The Gregory Project is a big step forward not only for Slovakia but hopefully for the planet as a whole.

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Gloria is an English and Art student at MSU as well as a professional mediocre joke teller. As an aspiring comic book artist she has a special affinity for all things geeky and also takes an active interest in pop culture. Gloria writes from a messy bedroom and sometimes a cubicle. Contact Gloria at gmiller@examiner.com.